Furniture leg fastening means

ABSTRACT

A mounting means for attaching legs to furniture without a screw connection includes a plate adapted to be secured to the underside of the furniture piece. The leg is adapted to lock into the plate.

United States Patent lnventor Raymond T. Carlson 1405 Peter Pan Road, Lookout Mountain,

Tenn. 37350 Appl. No. 689,446 Filed Dec. 11, 1967 Patented Jan. 19, 1971 FURNITURE LEG FASTENING MEANS 8 Claims, 11 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 248/188 Int. Cl F161: 9/02 Field of Search 248/ 188,

ReferencesCited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 1,526 3/1840 Gregg 5/302 28,276 5/1860 Hubbard 5/300 Walton McGrew. Janos Elsner McPhee Beene Mutchnik Beene Rudow FOREIGN PATENTS France Primary ExaminerFrancis K. Zugel Attorney-Norman L. Wilson, Jr.

ABSTRACT: A mounting means for attaching legs to fumiture without a screw connection includes a plate adapted to be secured to the underside of the furniture piece. The leg is adapted to lock into the plate.

PATENIED JAN] 9 ran SHEET 1 0F 2 INVENTOR.

RAYMOND T. CARLSON PATENTEU mu 9 m.

SHEET 2 OF 2 IIJ-VENTOR. RAYMOND Tv CARLSON FURNITURE LEG FASTENING MEANS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to supports for furniture legs. More particularly it relates to novel means for fastening legs or support members to furniture.

Modern practices make it possible to offer furniture for considerably lower prices where the furniture can be disassembled for shipping and warehousing and then reassembled at the point of sale. At the present time, this practice is in widespread use. but only for the simpler furniture designs. Thus where more sophisticated furniture is involved, especially tables with decorative members or stretchers in addition to their usual legs, the reassembly is of such complexity as to minimize or eliminate the cost savings sought by the disassembled shipping.

Various furniture fasteners have been provided, permitting the adjustability of furniture legs, most of these utilizing screw type fittings. However these attempts have not been totally satisfactory. In certain instances, the unsatisfactory nature of such approaches is due to the fact that the procedure involves a trial and error method of assembly and disassembly until the proper positioning of the legs is secured. This is time-consuming, adds to the ultimate cost of the piece of furniture, and also leads to a sales resistance on the part of retailers and purchasers. Other approaches have been unsatisfactory in that the range of adjustability is inadequate to meet the need without a trial and error approach. This, of course, says nothing of the wear which occurs in the members due to repeated attempts of assembly. Furthermore, the retailers have no desire to be bothered with furniture which is likely to be highly frustrating in reassembly. In still other arrangements, the use of hollow legs is mandatory, and the tightening of the securing screw places a strain of such a nature on the hollow leg member that a tendency to split the seam therein exists. Generally speaking, this pressure is applied by means of a rubber insert which tends to harden with age. Experience has shown that where such connections are used, the rubber tends to shrink so that the joints ultimately become loose and unsatisfactory.

According to this invention, it has now been found that it is possible to achieve all the advantages of knockdown construction with ordinary tables and chairs as well as furniture of sophisticated and complex design utilizing decorative members or stretchers.

According to the invention, the furniture legs can be attached to the furniture top without the use of screw connections, while still providing rigid attachment therebetween. This permits easy and rapid assembly of the furniture so that its complexity of design is no deterrent to the retailer. Indeed, the possibility of offering high-quality furniture at the reductions in prices provided by the knockdown feature makes furniture utilizing the support arrangement of this invention highly attractive to both retailers and to the purchasing public.

It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved and unique means of demountably attaching legs to furniture.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved means for assembling demountable furniture.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a novel furniture leg for use in the demountable leg attachment means contemplated herein.

A further object of this invention is to provide a unique means for connecting table legs to furniture utilizing low cost mounting elements which can be easily fabricated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The furniture leg assembly means of this invention contemplates two mounting means. The first mounting means includes a leg retaining plate, adapted to be rigidly secured to, but spaced from, the undersurface of the furniture top piece. The leg retaining plate has a bifurcated body portion formed by a central curvilinear concave portion open at one end. The

concave portion has an inner arcuate surface of over degrees so that the open end thereof is a cutaway minor cord. This shape results in the formation of free end surfaces whose distance apart is less than the diameter of the inner arcuate recess. The second mounting means includes a leg seat, the leg for the piece of furniture being provided near the top thereof with a seating groove. This groove perimetrically surrounds the leg. and the groove surface has at least one convex arcuate portion whose curvature corresponds to the inner concave portion of the first mounting means. The seating groove is also provided with at least one straight side portion between its arcuate surfaces so that it fits into the opening of the first mounting means between the free end surfaces.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention can, perhaps, be best understood by reference to specific embodiments of the invention such as those illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mounting member of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the leg in position in the mounting member, the mounting member being partially cutaway to show the leg seating groove.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are partially cutaway views showing how the leg groove seats in the mounting member.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show two different forms of seating leg shapes.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view through the seating groove illustrating a leg locking means.

FIG. 8 shows another form of mounting member with a different locking means.

FIG. 9 shows still another form of the mounting member.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the mounting member of FIG. 9 showing the leg in position therein.

FIG. 11 shows a strengthening band placed around the seat of the leg of FIG. 5.

Referring now specifically to the various views, the invention in one of its simpler forms is illustrated by the first two FIGS. In the embodiment shown in perspective in FIG. I, mounting member 2 is illustrated, having an anchoring or mounting plate 4 provided with apertures 6 for mounting screws. Mounting member 2 will be secured to the underside of either a table top, foot stool, chair seat and the like 5 to permit attachment of the legs thereto. As seen in FIG. 2 mounting member 2 is provided with a bight portion 8 forming a back wall portion which may contain reinforcing ribs 11. It is noted that leg retaining plate 10 is substantially planar, being provided with a central, generally arcuate, concave, recessed portion 12, FIG. 3. Recessed portion 12 thus forms a bifurcated body having oppositely bowed inside portions 14 and 16 forming a circumambient inner arcuate surface adapted to receive a leg. As will be explained subsequently, arcuate recessed portion 12 must contain more than 180 degrees in order to retain the leg I6.

Means for rigidly securing a leg 16 to retaining plate 10 will be best understood by reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. As shown in FIG. 2, leg 16 is provided with a perimetrical groove or channel 18. Whereas in the case of a round leg this appears to be an annular groove, a transverse cross section through the longitudinal axis of the leg, as can be seen in FIG. 3, shows this not to be the case. The groove has opposite arcuate wall portions 20 with opposite substantially parallel straight wall portions 22 therebetween, the arcuate walls being so curved as to be convex. In this embodiment the seating groove is so-shaped regardless of the external leg shape.

It has been pointed out that the arcuate surface of recessed portion I2 must be a central curvilinear surface containing more than 180 degrees. This means that the open end of recessed portion 12 is a cutaway minor cord. The reason for this requirement is that terminal portions a at the leading edges must be closer together than points b at the widest portion of the circumambient surface. See FIG. 4. The distance between terminal portions a is approximately equal to the distance between straight wall portions 22, whereas the configuration of convex arcuate wall portions 20 coincides with inner concave arcuate inside surfaces 14 and 16.

To lock the leg into place, the leg is inserted in the attachment or retaining plate by passing groove wall portions 22 between terminal portions a as shown in FIG. 3. The leg 16 is adapted to be interlocked in retaining plate 10 by rotation so that groove arcuate wall portions 20 rest against the similarly curved recessed portions 14 and 16 as shown in FIG. 4. The leg remains in the retaining plate because, as shown in FIG. 4, its side wall portions 20 are too far apart to pass between terminal portions 0. The leg in position will appear as it is in FIG. 2. Also as shown in FIG. 2, the width of groove 18 will be approximately equal to the thickness of plate 10 so that there is frictional engagement therebetween. Plate 10 is thus tightly interposed between upper and lower groove walls and is thereby rigidly held in position as shown in FIG. 2. To prevent any possible rotation due to shrinkage of the leg a tack 19 can be employed, but generally it is not necessary.

The mounting member illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is designed for small pieces of furniture such as end tables and the like. For pieces such as chairs where more strength is required a different form of mountingmember is desirable, with the leg modified accordingly. The upper leg portions in this instance, broadly, will be keystone shaped, but will have one pair of opposite arcuate sides as shown in FIGS. and 6. Each leg will still have at least one flat side 23 as shown in FIG. 5, preferably two flat sides 22, as in FIG. 6, in order to slip into the mounting member. The reason for the shape of these legs will be apparent from a consideration of FIGS. showing other embodiments.

Using the mounting member of FIGS. 1 through 4 it is possible on insertion to rotate the leg a complete turn of 360 degrees. The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7 prevents this. As shown in FIG. 7 the curvature of arcuate portion 24 is greater than the curvature of arcuate portion 26. The normal circular arc is shown by dotted line 27. In such an instance there is only one way the leg will fit into the attachment plate because of this cam action. Because of the cam opening it will not rotate if any portion of the arc of the plate has a different curvature from that of the leg seat. Generally only one quadrant need have a different curvature. This quandrant preferably will be one-fourth of the curve near either side of the opening, depending on whether leg 16 is to be turned clockwise or counterclockwise to seat it.

Referring now to FIG. 8, it will be recognized that this mounting member differs structurally from that of FIG. 1. As can be seen in FIG. 8, mounting plate 4 (FIG. 1) has been replaced by marginal side portions 30 and flanges 32 coextensive with the side portions. Apertures 34 are provided for screws or bolts as in the mounting member of FIG. 1, and leg retaining plate will be spaced away from the surface to which it is attached.

Still another difference between the mounting member of FIG. 8 and that of FIG. 1 is rim portion 38, which is provided to strengthen the leg retaining combination. Thus the mounting member of FIG. 1 is not strong enough for large chairs, but would be used only for small pieces of furniture such as end tables. For stronger mounting members the arcuate recessed portion contains a circumferential bend, forming the rim. A correspondingly wider groove is cut in leg 16, the curvature of which conforms to that of the retaining plate recessed portion, or a cutaway keystone shaped leg top is used as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

Referring again to FIG. 8, it will be noted that in the combination of this embodiment the opening to the central recess is again at least equal to distance between flat side 23 of the keystone leg top (FIG. 5), and a tangent to the arcuate portion 25 at its point furtherrnost from flat side 23. This distance is always less than the diameter of the inner arcuate recess. As in the other embodiments the curvature of the concave arcuate portion 25 will correspond to the curvature of arcuate rim 38 in FIG. 8. In order to prevent the leg from turning 180 degrees so as to slip out of the retaining plate, a tooth stop 42 is provided in one side of the rim near its mouth, i.e., near the terminal portion of the arc. However, if desired, the terminal portion of arcuate portion 50 can have different curvature from the rest of the arc as set forth hereinbefore forming a cam opening.

A preferred combination of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10. Leg is like that illustrated in FIG. 6, and the mounting member of this embodiment also contains outturned marginal flanges 32, coextensive with sides 30, which support mounting plate 10 away from the undersurface of a table or chair 48 to which, it is secured as shown in FIG. 14. Reinforcing ribs 46 are also provided as in FIG. 8, and the leg retaining plate 10, integral with sides 30, contains the concave recessed portion.

A feature of this embodiment is the leg tightening projection 50. The arcuate surface of the retaining plate has a segment with a different arc to prevent the leg from making a complete turn, i.e., being turned 360 degrees. However, in addition the front portion of leg retaining plate 10 projects downwardly, or away from the plate, as shown at 50 in FIG. 10, to form a tight fit. This surface projection or cam face 50 on the underside of the leg retaining plate functions as a tolerance take up. This locks the leg in place when using wooden legs in combination with steel mounting members. The cam face also prevents movement when downward pressures are applied, as in the case of the seat of a chair. It also forms a more stable combination when decorative members or stretchers are used between legs.

It has been seen that various methods of preventing leg rotation have been provided. In addition it will be apparent that the leg mounting member of this invention can be applied to various pieces of furniture. It will also be obvious that the legs to which this invention applies need not be made of wood, but can be formed from plastics, with or without reinforcing, hollow metals, and the like. In addition, where a soft wood is used for the leg, a metal band can be disposed around that portion of the leg seating in retaining plate 10. A particularly desirable collar is shown in FIG. 11. This collar 28 extends across flat side 23 of the leg seat, and its sides are curved to form arcuate surfaces corresponding to the curvature of the opposite side 25 of the leg seat. Since the collar sides do not completely surround side 25, they can be spread apart to permit the collar to snap into position. Mounting members can be stamped or otherwise formed out of steel, brass, iron, etc. or molded from plastic. Thus various ramifications and modifications will occur to one skilled in the art. Such variations are deemed to be within the scope of this invention.

Iclaim:

1. In a piece of furniture having demountable legs attached to the undersurface thereof, fastening means detachably securing said legs to the furniture piece, each fastening means comprising: (a) a first mounting means including a leg retaining plate, means for rigidly securing said plate to, but spaced from said undersurface, said retaining plate having a bifurcated body portion formed by a central curvilinear concave portion open at one end, said concave portion having an inner arcuate surface of over degrees so that the open end thereof is a cutaway minor cord forming free end surfaces whose distance apart is less than the diameter of the inner arcuate recess, (b) a second mounting means including a leg seat, the leg for said piece of furniture being provided near the top thereof with a seating groove perimetrically surrounding said leg, the groove surface having at least one convex arcuate portion whose curvature corresponds to the inner concave portion of said first mounting means, and at least one straight portion between ends of the arcuate portion so that it fits into the opening of the first mounting means and (c) means for preventing rotation of the leg seated in said first mounting means.

2. In a piece of furniture having demountable legs attached to the undersurface thereof, fastening means detachably securing said legs to the furniture piece. each fastening means comprising a first mounting means including a leg retaining plate, means for rigidly securing said plate to, but spaced from said undersurface, said retaining plate having a bifurcated body portion formed by a central curvilinear concave portion open at one end, said concave portion having an inner arcuate surface of over l80 degrees so that the open end thereof is a cutaway minor cord forming free end surfaces whose distance apart is less than the diameter of the inner arcuate recess, and a second mounting means including a leg seat, the leg for said piece of furniture being provided near the top thereof with a seating groove perimetrically surrounding said leg, the groove surface having at least one convex arcuate portion whose curvature corresponds to the inner concave portion of said first mounting means, and at least one straight portion between ends of the arcuate portion so that it fits into the opening of the first mounting means, at least one portion of the arcuate surface of the first mounting means having a curvature different from that of the remaining arcuate surface forming a cam opening.

3. In a piece of furniture having demountable legs attached to the undersurface thereof, fastening means detachably securing said legs to the furniture piece, each fastening means comprising a first mounting means including a leg retaining plate, means for rigidly securing said plate to, but spaced from said undersurface, said retaining plate having a bifurcated body portion formed by a central curvilinear concave portion open at one end, said concave portion having an inner arcuate surfaceof over 180 degrees so that the open end thereof is a cutaway minor cord forming free end surfaces whose distance apart is less than the diameter of the inner arcuate recess, and a second mounting means including a leg seat, the leg for said piece of furniture being provided near the top thereof with a seating groove perimetrically surrounding said leg, the groove surface having at least one convex arcuate portion whose curvature corresponds to the inner concave portion of said first mounting means, and at least one straight portion between ends of the arcuate portion so that it fits into the opening of the first mounting means, opposite arcuate surfaces of the bifurcated body portion of the first mounting means having different curvatures, the curvatures of convex arcuate portions of the seating groove conforming thereto.

4. In a piece of furniture having demountable legs attached to the undersurface thereof, fastening means detachably securing said legs to the furniture piece, each fastening means comprising a first mounting means including a leg retaining plate, means for rigidly securing said plate to, but spaced from said undersurface, said retaining plate having a bifurcated body portion formed by a central curvilinear concave portion open at one end, said concave portion having an inner arcuate surface of over 180 degrees so that the open end thereof is a cutaway minor cord forming free end surfaces whose distance apart is less than the diameter of the inner arcuate recess, and a second mounting means including a leg seat, the leg for said piece of furniture being provided near the top thereof with a seating groove perimetrically surrounding said leg, the groove surface having at least one convex arcuate portion whose curvature corresponds to the inner concave portion of said first mounting means, and at least one straight portion between ends of the arcuate portion so that it fits into the opening of the first mounting means, and a pin or bolt extending through the rear end of the first mounting means against the leg seating it in said first mounting means.

5. In a piece of furniture having demountable legs attached to the undersurface thereof, fastening means detachably securing said legs to the furniture piece, each fastening means comprising a first mounting means including a leg retaining plate, means for rigidly securing said plate to, but spaced from said undersurface, said retaining plate having a bifurcated body portion formed by a central curvilinear concave portion open at one end, said concave portion having an inner arcuate surface of over 180 degrees so that the open end thereof is a cutaway minor cord forming free end surfaces whose distance apart is less than the diameter of the inner arcuate recess, and a second mounting means including a leg seat, the leg for said piece of furniture being provided near the top thereof with a seating groove perimetrically surrounding said leg, the groove surface having at least one convex arcuate portion whose curvature corresponds to the inner concave portion of said first mounting means, and at least one straight portion between ends of the arcuate portion so that it fits into the opening of the first mounting means, the central concave portion of the retaining plate of the first mounting means being provided with a circumferential bend forming a reinforcing rim.

6. In a piece of furniture having demountable legs attached to the undersurface thereof, fastening means detachably securing said legs to the furniture piece, each fastening means comprising a first mounting means including a leg retaining plate comprising an anchoring portion adapted for attachment to an underside of the piece of furniture, and a bifurcated body portion integral with said anchoring portion but extending from said anchoring portion, the bifurcated body being formed by a central curvilinear concave recess forming oppositely bowed arcuate sides connected at one end and with an opening at the opposite end forming terminal portions, the recess having an inner arcuate surface of over degrees with the opening thereto formed by a cutaway minor cord, the bifurcated body and terminal portions being spaced away from the anchoring portion so that one portion of a leg end passes under the terminal portions when another portion of the leg end is slideably inserted through the opening between the terminal portions, and a second mounting means including a leg seat, the leg for said piece of furniture being provided near the top thereof with a seating groove perimetrically surrounding said leg, the groove surface having at least one convex arcuate portion whose curvature corresponds to the inner concave portion of said first mounting means, and at least one straight portion between ends of the arcuate portion so that it fits into the opening of the first mounting means.

7. A mounting member for detachably securing legs to a piece of furniture, said member being a leg retaining plate comprising an anchoring portion adapted for attachment to an underside of the piece of furniture, and a bifurcated body portion integral with said anchoring portion but extending from said anchoring portion, the bifurcated body being formed by a central curvilinear concave recess forming oppositely bowed arcuate sides connected at one end and with an opening at the opposite end forming terminal portions, the recess having an inner arcuate surface of over 180 degrees with the opening thereto formed by a cutaway minor cord, the bifurcated body and terminal portions being spaced away from the anchoring portion so that one portion of a leg end passes under the terminal portions when another portion of the leg end is slideably inserted through the opening between the terminal portions, means for preventing rotation of the leg seated in said mounting member, said rotation preventing means being a pin or bolt extending through the rear of the recess portion against the leg straight portion to prevent possible leg rotation.

8. A mounting member for detachably securing legs to a piece of furniture, said member being a leg retaining plate comprising an anchoring portion adapted for attachment to an underside of the piece of furniture, and a bifurcated body portion integral with said anchoring portion but extending from said anchoring portion, the bifurcated body being formed by a central curvilinear concave recess forming oppositely bowed arcuate sides connected at one end and with an opening at the opposite end forming terminal portions, the recess having an inner arcuate surface of over 180 degrees with the opening thereto formed by a cutaway minor cord, the bifurcated body and terminal portions being spaced away from the anchoring portion so that one portion of a leg end passes under the terminal portions when another portion of the leg end is slideably inserted through the opening between the terminal portions, means for preventing rotation of the leg seated in said mounting member, said rotation preventing means being a terminal portion having a different curvature from the rest of the arc forming the opening. 

1. In a piece of furniture having demountable legs attached to the undersurface thereof, fastening means detachably securing said legs to the furniture piece, each fastening means comprising: (a) a first mounting means including a leg retaining plate, means for rigidly securing said plate to, but spaced from said undersurface, said retaining plate having a bifurcated body portion formed by a central curvilinear concave portion open at one end, said concave portion having an inner arcuate surface of over 180 degrees so that the open end thereof is a cutaway minor cord forming free end surfaces whose distance apart is less than the diameter of the inner arcuate recess, (b) a second mounting means including a leg seat, the leg for said piece of furniture being provided near the top thereof with a seating groove perimetrically surrounding said leg, the groove surface having at least one convex arcuate portion whose curvature corresponds to the inner concave portion of said first mounting means, and at least one straight portion between ends of the arcuate portion so that it fits into the opening of the first mounting means and (c) means for preventing rotation of the leg seated in said first mounting means.
 2. In a piece of furniture having demountable legs attached to the undersurface thereof, fastening means detachably securing said legs to the furniture piece, each fastening means comprising a first mounting means including a leg retaining plate, means for rigidly securing said plate to, but spaced from said undersurface, said retaining plate having a bifurcated body portion formed by a central curvilinear concave portion open at one end, said concave portion having an inner arcuate surface of over 180 degrees so that the open end thereof is a cutaway minor cord forming free end surfaces whose distance apart is less than the diameter of the inner arcuate recess, and a second mounting means including a leg seat, the leg for said piece of furniture being provided near the top thereof with a seating groove perimetrically surrounding said leg, the groove surface having at least one convex arcuate portion whose curvature corresponds to the inner concave portion of said first mounting means, and at least one straight portion between ends of the arcuate portion so that it fits into the opening of the first mounting means, at least one portion of the arcuate surface of the first mounting means having a curvature different from that of the remaining arcuate surface forming a cam opening.
 3. In a piece of furniture having demountable legs attached to the undersurface thereof, fastening means detachably securing said legs to the furniture piece, each fastening means comprising a first mounting means including a leg retaining plate, means for rigidly securing said plate to, but spaced from said undersurface, said retaining plate having a bifurcated body portion formed by a central curvilinear concave portion open at one end, said concave portion having an inner arcuate surface of over 180 degrees so that the open end thereof is a cutaway minor cord forming free end surfaces whose distance apart is less than the diameter of the inner arcuate recess, and a second mounting means including a leg seat, the leg for said piece of furniture being provided near the top thereof with a seating groove perimetrically surrounding said leg, the groove surface having at least one convex arcuate portion whose curvature corresponds to the inner concave portion of said first mounting means, and at least one straight portion between ends of the arcuate portion so that it fits into the opening of the first mounting means, opposite arcuate surfaces of the bifurcated body portion of the first mounting means having differenT curvatures, the curvatures of convex arcuate portions of the seating groove conforming thereto.
 4. In a piece of furniture having demountable legs attached to the undersurface thereof, fastening means detachably securing said legs to the furniture piece, each fastening means comprising a first mounting means including a leg retaining plate, means for rigidly securing said plate to, but spaced from said undersurface, said retaining plate having a bifurcated body portion formed by a central curvilinear concave portion open at one end, said concave portion having an inner arcuate surface of over 180 degrees so that the open end thereof is a cutaway minor cord forming free end surfaces whose distance apart is less than the diameter of the inner arcuate recess, and a second mounting means including a leg seat, the leg for said piece of furniture being provided near the top thereof with a seating groove perimetrically surrounding said leg, the groove surface having at least one convex arcuate portion whose curvature corresponds to the inner concave portion of said first mounting means, and at least one straight portion between ends of the arcuate portion so that it fits into the opening of the first mounting means, and a pin or bolt extending through the rear end of the first mounting means against the leg seating it in said first mounting means.
 5. In a piece of furniture having demountable legs attached to the undersurface thereof, fastening means detachably securing said legs to the furniture piece, each fastening means comprising a first mounting means including a leg retaining plate, means for rigidly securing said plate to, but spaced from said undersurface, said retaining plate having a bifurcated body portion formed by a central curvilinear concave portion open at one end, said concave portion having an inner arcuate surface of over 180 degrees so that the open end thereof is a cutaway minor cord forming free end surfaces whose distance apart is less than the diameter of the inner arcuate recess, and a second mounting means including a leg seat, the leg for said piece of furniture being provided near the top thereof with a seating groove perimetrically surrounding said leg, the groove surface having at least one convex arcuate portion whose curvature corresponds to the inner concave portion of said first mounting means, and at least one straight portion between ends of the arcuate portion so that it fits into the opening of the first mounting means, the central concave portion of the retaining plate of the first mounting means being provided with a circumferential bend forming a reinforcing rim.
 6. In a piece of furniture having demountable legs attached to the undersurface thereof, fastening means detachably securing said legs to the furniture piece, each fastening means comprising a first mounting means including a leg retaining plate comprising an anchoring portion adapted for attachment to an underside of the piece of furniture, and a bifurcated body portion integral with said anchoring portion but extending from said anchoring portion, the bifurcated body being formed by a central curvilinear concave recess forming oppositely bowed arcuate sides connected at one end and with an opening at the opposite end forming terminal portions, the recess having an inner arcuate surface of over 180 degrees with the opening thereto formed by a cutaway minor cord, the bifurcated body and terminal portions being spaced away from the anchoring portion so that one portion of a leg end passes under the terminal portions when another portion of the leg end is slideably inserted through the opening between the terminal portions, and a second mounting means including a leg seat, the leg for said piece of furniture being provided near the top thereof with a seating groove perimetrically surrounding said leg, the groove surface having at least one convex arcuate portion whose curvature corresponds to the inner concave portion of said first mounting means, and at least oNe straight portion between ends of the arcuate portion so that it fits into the opening of the first mounting means.
 7. A mounting member for detachably securing legs to a piece of furniture, said member being a leg retaining plate comprising an anchoring portion adapted for attachment to an underside of the piece of furniture, and a bifurcated body portion integral with said anchoring portion but extending from said anchoring portion, the bifurcated body being formed by a central curvilinear concave recess forming oppositely bowed arcuate sides connected at one end and with an opening at the opposite end forming terminal portions, the recess having an inner arcuate surface of over 180 degrees with the opening thereto formed by a cutaway minor cord, the bifurcated body and terminal portions being spaced away from the anchoring portion so that one portion of a leg end passes under the terminal portions when another portion of the leg end is slideably inserted through the opening between the terminal portions, means for preventing rotation of the leg seated in said mounting member, said rotation preventing means being a pin or bolt extending through the rear of the recess portion against the leg straight portion to prevent possible leg rotation.
 8. A mounting member for detachably securing legs to a piece of furniture, said member being a leg retaining plate comprising an anchoring portion adapted for attachment to an underside of the piece of furniture, and a bifurcated body portion integral with said anchoring portion but extending from said anchoring portion, the bifurcated body being formed by a central curvilinear concave recess forming oppositely bowed arcuate sides connected at one end and with an opening at the opposite end forming terminal portions, the recess having an inner arcuate surface of over 180 degrees with the opening thereto formed by a cutaway minor cord, the bifurcated body and terminal portions being spaced away from the anchoring portion so that one portion of a leg end passes under the terminal portions when another portion of the leg end is slideably inserted through the opening between the terminal portions, means for preventing rotation of the leg seated in said mounting member, said rotation preventing means being a terminal portion having a different curvature from the rest of the arc forming the opening. 